Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Located on Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is in an ideal spot for lovers of all things nautical, which -- as the name might give away -- describes most of its roughly 1,700 students. The Academy prides itself on getting students ready for both sea-going and shoreside careers, offering seven undergraduate degrees in fields such as marine engineering, marine transportation, international maritime business, and emergency management. MMA is structured like a military academy. Students in certain majors are required to complete "sea terms," spending weeks training aboard a ship en route to a variety of U.S. and foreign ports. The academy does offer aspects of traditional college life, albeit on a smaller scale: Students can play on more than a dozen Division III sports teams and have their choice of several organizations, including clubs for chess, motocross, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. There's also Safe Harbor, a program that encourages MMA's students and staff to identify themselves as LGBTQ allies. Recent grads report earning an average of $63,700, according to PayScale, about 28% more than graduates of schools with similar student demographics. The solid graduation rate of 73% is, according to Money, about 11% higher than schools with comparable student bodies.